International schools in São Paulo

International schools in São Paulo compared

The best international school in São Paulo is the one that awards the diploma your child needs and sits near where you'll live. Start with the diploma, then compare fees and campus.

Best international schools in São Paulo by diploma

• For a US diploma, look at Graded or Avenues. Chapel, founded for American families, teaches the IB Diploma and admits students all year.
• For the British curriculum with IGCSEs, look at St. Paul's in Jardins or the British College of Brazil in Chácara Flora and Cidade Jardim.
• For the IB from primary school, St. Nicholas holds all three IB programs at both its Pinheiros and Alphaville campuses.
• For the French baccalauréat, there's the Lycée international français in Vila Mariana.
• For the German Abitur, there's Porto Seguro or Humboldt. The Italian Maturità runs at Dante Alighieri.
• For the IB Diploma in Spanish, there's Colegio Miguel de Cervantes in Morumbi.

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American schools in São Paulo

Graded and Avenues award a US diploma, and Chapel, founded for American families, teaches the IB Diploma.

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Outside the city, Escola Americana de Campinas is about an hour from São Paulo. It was founded in 1956, holds CIS and NEASC accreditation and teaches about 850 students aged 2 to 19.⁵⁵

British schools in São Paulo

Both teach the British curriculum with Cambridge IGCSEs and the IB Diploma, and both start in August.

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IB schools in São Paulo

Graded, St. Paul's, Chapel, the British College of Brazil, Cervantes and Porto Seguro appear above. These São Paulo area schools also hold IB authorizations we confirmed in the IB directory on October 8, 2026.

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French, German and other national schools in São Paulo

Students can work toward the French baccalauréat, the German Abitur or the Italian Maturità without leaving São Paulo.

French school in São Paulo

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German schools in São Paulo

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Swiss, Italian, Spanish and Japanese schools

• Escola Suíço-Brasileira, the Swiss school in Alto da Boa Vista, was founded in 1966 and had about 815 pupils in October 2026. It teaches in German and Portuguese and starts its year in January. It says students take the IB Diploma, but it wasn't in the IB directory in October 2026.
• Colégio Dante Alighieri, open since 1911 on Alameda Jaú, runs a four-year Liceo Scientifico that leads to the Italian Maturità. Italy's Foreign Ministry recognized it in December 2022.
• Colegio Miguel de Cervantes, the Spanish school in Morumbi, has taught the IB Diploma in Spanish since 2015.
• The Japanese school is listed by the Japanese Consulate-General in São Paulo at (11) 5511-5022.

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Bilingual schools in São Paulo

Bilingual schools are Brazilian schools that follow the national curriculum, award the Brazilian diploma and teach part of the day in English. International schools follow a foreign curriculum or award a foreign diploma.

• Beacon School runs English immersion from about age 1 and holds all three IB programs. Children up to age 6 need no English, and English is assessed from Year 1. It doesn't publish tuition and suggests a R$2,000 to R$5,000 donation to its scholarship fund.
• Maple Bear is a Canadian-method franchise that says it has more than 210 schools and 40,000 students in Brazil. Each school sets its own fees.
• Colégio Mackenzie in Higienópolis teaches in Portuguese. Its Mack School adds English afternoons for Grades 2 to 5, from 10 installments of R$373 in 2026.
• Pueri Domus, a bilingual school, offers the IB Diploma at four São Paulo campuses, including Itaim Bibi.

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English daycare and preschool in São Paulo

Brazilian law calls care up to age 3 creche, and enrollment is compulsory from age 4. Avenues' Small World takes ages 1 and 2 for R$119,905 in 2026-27. Beacon takes walkers from 1 year 4 months, Maple Bear starts at 18 months and the British College of Brazil at age 2. For parks, health care and daily life with children, read moving to São Paulo with kids.^{19 20 40 42 57}

Public schools for foreign children

Foreign children can enroll in São Paulo's free public schools whatever their migration status. CNE/CEB Resolution 1 of 2020 requires schools to take them immediately for compulsory schooling, ages 4 to 17.

• Schools can't refuse a place over missing sworn translations, no RNM migration ID, irregular status or expired papers.
• A child without school records is assessed in their mother tongue. Preschool and first grade go by age alone.
• Migrant children can't be put in separate classes, and schools teach Portuguese as a welcome language.
• A daycare (creche) place depends on availability.

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Classes are in Portuguese. Parents can learn it free through the city's Portas Abertas program, and registered students ride for half fare in 2026, R$2.65 by bus. See getting around São Paulo.^{60 61}

Homeschooling in Brazil

Homeschooling isn't recognized in Brazil. In 2018 the Supreme Federal Court ruled that families have no right to it because no law provides for it. A bill to allow it was still before the Senate in October 2026. Parents must enroll children in school from age 4, so lessons at home can add to school but can't replace it.^{57 62 63}

International school fees in São Paulo

Schools set fees in reais and usually collect them in 11 to 13 installments a year. Dollar figures use R$4.99 per US$1, the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX rate for October 7, 2026.

One-time and extra costs

• Graded takes a 40% deposit on the July tuition per child plus a one-time Capital Fund donation of an unpublished amount. Grade 12 IB exam fees run about US$565 to US$1,070, and Classroom Without Walls trips in Grades 6 to 12 are billed separately.
• St. Paul's charges a R$1,000 application fee and a one-time Investment Fund contribution of R$21,000 to R$70,000.
• British College of Brazil charges new students R$16,200 once. Meals cost 11 × R$1,050 and uniforms about R$2,500 a year.
• Avenues charges a R$420 application fee and says no fees are required beyond tuition.
• PACA charges a R$350 evaluation fee and publishes a separate corporate schedule of R$171,510 to R$188,579 a year.
• French lycée charges R$1,646 for the 2027 baccalauréat exam.

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Sibling discounts

• St. Paul's charges second and later children R$10,803.50 to R$13,625.90 a month, against R$11,925 to R$15,061 for the first.
• British College of Brazil takes 10% off for a second child and 5% for further children.
• Beacon gives no sibling discount.

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When does the school year start in São Paulo?

Brazilian schools run from early February to December, with a July break and at least 200 school days by law. The American and British schools start in August.

Arrive in January and a February-start school lets your child begin a new year. Ask each school how it places a child coming from the other calendar.

How admissions work and when to apply

Contact schools as soon as you know your moving date, because start dates, language tests and entry fees differ from school to school.

1. 1

   Match the start date

   Avenues takes new students in January and August, and Chapel admits at any time of year. Ask other schools about midyear entry.

2. 2

   Check language and age rules

   Avenues needs grade-level English from Grade 2, and Beacon assesses English from Year 1. Humboldt's Abitur requires German at C1 or above. Beacon and the Swiss school use a March 31 age cutoff.

3. 3

   Check upper-grade entry

   Chapel's late applicants to Grade 12 must meet its full IB prerequisites. Ask any IB school how it places a student who arrives partway through the Diploma.

4. 4

   Budget the entry costs

   Expect an application or evaluation fee, such as R$420 at Avenues, R$1,000 at St. Paul's or R$350 at PACA, plus an enrollment payment. St. Paul's says its fee doesn't guarantee a place.

5. 5

   Plan the first payments

   Avenues took its 2026-27 deposit in March 2026. The French lycée bills new families' first installment in December, before a February start.

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Put school deadlines next to visa and lease dates in your São Paulo moving checklist.

Where families live near the schools

Choose the school first, then the neighborhood. The Alphaville schools lie outside the city.

Compare areas in the best neighborhoods in São Paulo and check current rent in São Paulo before you sign a lease near the school.

Universities in São Paulo for international students

USP charges no tuition, but you apply through an entrance exam in Portuguese. Private universities charge a monthly fee, and FGV runs a business track taught in English.